Mercury levels OK outside Riverdale warehouse, EPA says

November 02, 2007|By Ray Gibson, Tribune staff reporter

An inspection of a Riverdale warehouse containing thousands of mercury-laden light bulbs has concluded that there are not elevated levels of mercury in the air beyond the facility, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said in a statement Thursday.

The EPA said the inspection was in response to a Tribune story this week that outlined how the building had become a virtual light-bulb storage warehouse for a company called River Shannon Recycling. The village had alleged the warehouse was a hazardous-waste site because the lamps weren't being recycled.

Karen Thompson, an EPA spokeswoman, said four inspectors went to the warehouse Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Chicago officials said Thursday they had terminated a contract with a Chicago firm that was going to use River Shannon to recycle fluorescent light bulbs from the city. That contract was set to begin Thursday.

State officials said they were suspending a grant for River Shannon to recycle other electronic products.

Douglas Yerkes, the acting procurement director for Chicago, said the decision to terminate the contract was mutually agreed to by the primary contractor, Branscombe Cable Co., after the city asked that they not use River Shannon because of environmental concerns.

"I would assume they got a good price from River Shannon as a subcontractor and couldn't get anything as competitive," Yerkes said.

Yerkes said the city will seek new competitive bids.

River Shannon had been awarded two grants totaling almost $100,000 by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. The firm had not yet received any grant money but had obtained equipment from the state, said Mica Matsoff, an agency spokeswoman. She said the grants were being suspended.

Generally, a permit from the federal EPA is required to recycle fluorescent light bulbs because of the high mercury concentrations in older bulbs, but River Shannon has no federal or state permits.

The city and the Commerce Department did business with River Shannon because of a letter written by Cook County's solid waste coordinator, Raymond Akers Jr., that said a county survey found the company in regulatory compliance.

Luis Diaz-Perez, a spokesman for Commonwealth Edison, said the company began working with River Shannon through another contractor in November 2004 to collect and dispose of between 100 and 1,300 fluorescent light bulbs a month from 52 of its facilities.

"Their credibility was bolstered by the other large customers," he said.

In a statement issued late Thursday, the utility said it was asking its contractors to stop using River Shannon for recycling.

Among River Shannon's clients was the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Mark Rosati, a university spokesman, said UIC has paid River Shannon more than $66,000 over three years. The daughter of River Shannon's owner, Laurence Kelly, worked until recently as a clerk at the university's Plant Department but had nothing to do with the firm's contract, Rosati said.

In the current fiscal year, two other companies along with River Shannon will be handling the bulb disposal.

Authorities also are trying to trace what happened to more than 60,000 light bulbs that were being stored in trailers in the West Loop.